Artists face steep income decline due to AI, finds UNESCO report

• Creators worldwide are facing mounting financial pressures as rapid advances in digital technologies and artificial intelligence continue to transform the cultural and creative industries, according to a new global report released by UNESCO on February 18. 

• These disruptions are occurring at a pace that outstrips current policy responses, exacerbating inequalities and threatening the livelihoods of millions of cultural workers.

• The shift toward digital production and consumption has created new opportunities but also intensified economic uncertainty. 

• Creators are experiencing heightened exposure to intellectual property violations and diminishing returns on their work as AI generated outputs enter the marketplace.

• UNESCO’s latest edition of its flagship report titled ‘Re|Shaping Policies for Creativity’, with data from over 120 countries, points out the need for stronger policies to protect creators from widening inequalities.

• This fourth edition of the report marks 20 years since the adoption of the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions.

Diversity of cultural expressions remains undervalued

• While cultural and creative industries are increasingly recognised as drivers of economic growth, social cohesion and sustainable development, the systems supporting them remain fragile and uneven.

• Although 85 per cent of reporting countries include cultural and creative industries in national development plans, only 56 per cent set specific cultural objectives — revealing a gap between general commitments and actions.

• Since 2005, global trade in cultural goods has grown significantly, doubling in value to reach $254.28 billion in 2023, with 46 per cent of exports originating in developing countries. 

• However, developing countries account for just over 20 per cent of global trade in cultural services, reflecting growing disparities as markets shift toward digital formats.

• Direct public funding for culture remains critically low at under 0.6 per cent of GDP globally and continues to decline.

• A persistent “visa wall” limits artistic mobility, with 96 per cent of developed countries supporting outward mobility but only 38 per cent facilitating inward mobility from developing nations.

A digital divide impacting creative economies

• While digital technologies have broadened access to creative tools and audiences, they have also intensified inequalities and economic precarity.

• Digital revenues now represent 35 per cent of creators’ income, up from 17 per cent in 2018, marking a structural shift accompanied by income instability and increased exposure to intellectual property infringements.

• By 2028, the impact of Generative AI outputs is projected to result in global revenue losses of 24 per cent for music creators and 21 per cent for audiovisual creators.

• Essential digital skills are held by 67 per cent of people in developed countries compared to just 28 per cent in developing countries, reinforcing North-South divides.

• Market concentration among a small number of streaming platforms and opaque content curation systems marginalise lesser-known creators.

• Only 48 per cent of countries are developing statistics to monitor digital cultural consumption, limiting effective policy responses.

Rising threats to artistic freedom

• Only 61 per cent of countries maintain independent monitoring bodies for artistic freedom.

• Political instability, conflict and displacement place cultural professionals at heightened risk, yet only 37 per cent of countries report initiatives to protect them.

• Support mechanisms for artists at risk remain fragmented and under-resourced, while digital surveillance and algorithmic bias pose new challenges.

• UNESCO warns that without renewed investment, fairer market conditions and stronger international cooperation, creators risk being further marginalised as technologies evolve. 

• The agency urges governments to mobilise cultural policy as a strategic priority to safeguard the livelihoods of artists and to ensure that creativity continues to serve as a driver of social cohesion, economic opportunity and cultural diversity in a rapidly changing world.